KCI the engineers B.V. will be economically owned by Royal IHC as of 1-1-2018

To maximise the success of KCI, Oceanteam has decided to divest KCI to Royal IHC. With great care the management teams of Oceanteam and KCI have investigated the most optimal route for further development of KCI. A period of due diligence with Royal IHC, KCI management together with Oceanteam concluded that a transaction with Royal IHC would be the best basis for a continued prosperous future of KCI.

Who is who?

Royal IHC provides reliable and innovative equipment, vessels and services that enable its customers to outperform in the dredging, offshore and mining industries. The products and services of Royal IHC add value to the activities of Royal IHCs’ customers’, maximising uptime and performance, and minimising operational costs. Royal IHC enables its customers to execute complex projects from sea level to ocean floor in the most challenging of maritime environments. From the head office in The Netherlands and with more than 2,700 employees working from sites and offices on a global basis, Royal IHC is able to ensure a local presence and support on every continent.

Royal IHCs’ strategy is to further develop into a provider of knowledge and technology based services. In the underlined items KCI can contribute directly to the Royal IHC strategy. KCI can offer Royal IHC new, or a more established position in industry segments such as the renewable market, decommissioning-projects, CO2-compliance projects and conversion/ renovations of FPSO’s. The position of KCI in the Oil and Gas and Renewable markets (network, know-how and R&D) is helpful for IHC to enlarge its footprint worldwide, and complementary to the group’s current activities.

Besides the advantages of clustering the mutual backgrounds of both parties, Royal IHC has also increased the in-house capacity in engineering. The extensive know how of the KCI engineers will be much appreciated for the many ongoing and new projects as assistance for the existing engineering clusters within Royal IHC. Expected opportunities for KCI are cooperation with IHC IQIP, SAS/Hytop, IHC UK (Engineering Business), IHC Services, Vuyk Engineering, IHC Systems.

For KCI, the clustering with the Royal IHC content opens up opportunities to use the international network of Royal IHC with offices around the globe. With Royal IHC as a back bone with strong resources and a sound client base, KCI can extend presence in the target markets significantly. The innovative and entrepreneurial culture of Royal IHC fits perfectly with the background of KCI. The clustering with Royal IHC supports strongly KCIs’ strategy to be more involved in EPCI projects. In combination with the fabrication services of Royal IHC, KCI will be capable to deliver Total Solutions which is connecting with global developments in the current markets.

The availability of the global engineering services of Royal IHC opens doors for KCI to extend engineering capacity to strengthen the position in engineering projects for existing customers. Oceanteam will stay an important client for KCI, supported by Royal IHC. KCI will remain its position as main design office for the equipment of Oceanteam.

The KCI team expresses sincerely gratitude towards Oceanteam for many years of cooperation, support and guidance.

Oceanteam ASA (Oceanteam), the Dutch – Norwegian offshore service provider, listed at the Oslo stock exchange, and Royal IHC (IHC), a Dutch privately owned global supplier of innovative and efficient equipment, vessels and sustainable services for the offshore, dredging and wet mining markets announce that Oceanteam and IHC have executed a signing protocol under the terms of which IHC will acquire all of the outstanding share capital of Oceanteam’s Dutch based engineering and consultancy company KCI the Engineers B.V. subject to certain conditions precedent through an agreed Sale and Purchase Agreement. The transaction is not subject to regulatory approval.

IHC plans to maintain KCI as an independent brand and operating company which will continue to serve external clients whilst also working on IHC projects. Oceanteam will continue to have access to all intellectual property built up over the years in relation to Oceanteam’s vessels, carousels and other assets. Furthermore, Oceanteam continues to have access to KCI’s engineering capabilities through a long term Service Level Agreement (SLA) between IHC and Oceanteam. This will provide Oceanteam with all necessary engineering support to pursue further growth of its Solutions and Shipping divisions. Oceanteam will continue to comprise of two operating segments, Shipping and Solutions.

Diederik van Rijn, IHC group Executive Director adds: “the acquisition of KCI fits within the overall strategy of IHC to further develop into a provider of knowledge and technology based services. KCI has built up an impressive track record in providing engineering solutions for the Oil & Gas, Offshore Wind and giant ferris wheels market segments and complements the other engineering centers of expertise within the group. We believe that KCI, with IHC as a strong reliable parent, will be able to further develop and grow to the benefit of its clients. We are also delighted to continue to provide engineering services to Oceanteam in the future”.

Haico Halbesma, CEO of Oceanteam explains: “IHC presented a strategy that fits with the next step KCI has to take in terms of further expanding its unique designs and credentials list to become an even stronger partner for its clients. It also emphasizes the confidence in the engineering capabilities and idea realization skills of the KCI team. Their outstanding engineering projects have caught the attention of many clients over the past years, including amongst others the group that realizes the biggest ferris wheel that is now being built on Bluewater’s Island in front of the Dubai coastline.”

Oceanteam will use the proceeds of the sale to improve the Company’s liquidity and to reduce outstanding debts. “By securing continued access to KCI’s services for our own Solutions business this is definitely a win-win transaction”, concludes Halbesma.

Further financial details are not being disclosed.

About IHC

In an ever-changing political and economic landscape, Royal IHC enables its customers to execute complex projects from sea level to ocean floor in the most challenging of maritime environments.

We are a reliable supplier of innovative and efficient equipment, vessels and services for the offshore, dredging and wet mining markets. With a history steeped in Dutch shipbuilding since the mid-17th Century, we have in-depth knowledge and expertise of engineering and manufacturing high-performance integrated vessels and equipment, and providing sustainable services. From our head office in The Netherlands and with 2,700 employees working from sites and offices on a global basis, we are able to ensure a local presence and support on every continent.

Dredging operators, oil and gas corporations, offshore contractors, mining houses and government authorities all over the world benefit from IHC’s high-quality solutions and services. With our commitment to technological innovation, in which sustainability and safety are key, we strive to continuously meet the specific needs of each customer in a rapidly evolving world.

The Company is comprised of two operating segments, Oceanteam Shipping and Oceanteam Solutions. Oceanteam Shipping owns, charters and manages deep-water offshore support vessels and fast support vessels. Oceanteam Solutions' focus is to provide its clients with complete offshore solutions. Oceanteam ASA has been active in the industry as an offshore solutions provider for over twelve years.